PSYC 3100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Secondary Sex Characteristic, Agreeableness, Collectivism

• School: University of Georgia
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 3100
• Professor: Cyterski

Document Summary

Some childhood experiences resonate throughout life, and birth order whether you are the oldest, middle, or youngest in your family, or an only child seems likely to be one of them. Thus birth order effects are about one-tenth the size of genetic effects on personality. In addition, many effects have not been replicated, meaning some studies find differences and others do not. Studies generally find support for sulloway"s theory: younger siblings do tend to be more reckless. Oldest children, the theory goes, have already established their position with their parents, but younger children must distinguish themselves by being more rebellious. Firstborns also score a little higher in conscientiousness and neuroticism, and lastborns higher in agreeableness; this last result is one of the few that seems fairly consistent across studies. Among the big five traits, high conscientiousness is the best predictor of health, long life, and school and work performance (bogg & roberts, 2004).